Project HEAL: Health Education and Awareness in Latin America

In Fall 2008, I founded the student group Project HEAL at Duke University. A team of students and faculty in the Duke Global Health Institute began collaborating with NGOs that deal with health issues in Honduras to develop a plan for a health research and health education project. In Spring 2009, the team submitted an IRB protocol for research, which was recently approved, and also developed lesson plans for the health education camps. 5 Duke students received funding from the University to make Project HEAL a reality for the summer of 2009. This summer Duke students will empower children with emotional, nutritional, and hygienic struggles in four populations: the Grandma’s Kids community in El Porvenir; the Las Sonrisas de los Niños daycare in El Cacao; the El Hogar de Amor Orphanage in the village of Agua Caliente; and Los Campesinos-Solares Nuevos. Project HEAL will sustain student commitment as a student group at Duke, connecting with other global health organizations and raising awareness about health disparities in Honduras. Research conducted through surveys and interviews will be developed into a research report, adding to the limited knowledge of health conditions in the rural Atlantida region of Honduras. This report will provide a documented means of tracking the health situation in the four specified communities, and will impart valuable insight regarding the prevalence of specific health concerns and stigmas to Honduran leaders. Health camp curricula and research materials will be adjusted in future years to reflect the adapting needs of the Honduran people. Efforts will focus on the sustainability of this initiative, and contact with Honduran community leaders will continue throughout the year. Project HEAL aims to impart the children of Honduras with the knowledge and resources they need to make healthier decisions on their own, and not to aggressively convert their health practices. Therefore, communities will be encouraged to assume responsibility of basic health care decisions and to remain committed to following health conscious practices, allowing Project HEAL to have a year-round, active impact in Honduras. By building relationships with parents, teachers, and children and investigating health needs through surveys and interviews, students will gain an understanding about critical health concerns in the four communities. Students will develop surveys for local health professionals to determine the incidence of diabetes, malnutrition, parasites, and other conditions. Students will analyze research information to modify content of the health workbooks and health lessons. Students will also investigate the potential causes of health problems to develop a community health report and future community health project recommendations. Understanding that flexibility in plans will ensure this project is most effective, the actual content and time spent on research and analysis will vary depending on the situation in each community, but a balance between field research, analysis and curriculum development will be maintained. We have developed a model which integrates community members and leaders into the actual project work, increasing the chances that new information can be adopted into regular school curriculum and that trained community members can continue health camp lessons. Additionally, as a Duke student group, Project HEAL will sustain student commitment in Honduras by connecting with other global health organizations and raising awareness about health disparities. Research conducted through surveys and interviews will be developed into a report, adding to the limited knowledge of health conditions in the rural Atlantida region. This report will provide a documented means of tracking the status of health and well being in the four specified communities, and will impart valuable insight regarding the prevalence of specific health concerns and stigmas to our community partner and Honduran leaders. Joint efforts with community partners will focus on the sustainability of this initiative throughout the year, allowing health camp curricula and research materials to be adjusted to reflect changing needs of the target communities. Therefore, Project HEAL will maintain its active impact in Honduras, encouraging communities to assume responsibility of basic healthcare decisions and to remain committed to leading health-conscious lifestyles. In the future, I hope to further address the needs of rural Honduran villages by developing collaborative public health projects. I hope that next year my team can implement a water purification system so that we can work together with the community to eliminate parasites. It saddens me that so many people in Honduras still suffer from preventable diseases, and I hope we can take steps this summer and the next to serve Honduran communities by collaborating with the local people to create action plans that are sustainable and effective at improving public health.